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Oil platform closed as parts of deck too heavy for beams

Oil platform closed as parts of deck too heavy for beams

Statoil has been forced to shut its Njord platform until next year because parts of the deck were too heavy for the beams holding it up, it has emerged.

The platform, which originally shut down in July for maintenance, was due to reopen earlier this month, but yesterday North Sea operator Faroe revealed this had been held up until next year.

Now the Norwegian major which operates the platform has confirmed that the rig needs to be reinforced before it can be reopened.

“Planning of the task has begun,” said Njord production director Arve Rennemo.

“At this stage it is difficult to estimate the extent of the reinforcements needed, but it already seems clear that we will have to allow for this work to take until the summer of 2014.”

Although no new damage has occurred on the platform since repair work earlier this summer, the company said new structural analysis had shown some of the deck structures were too heavily loaded and need to be reinforced.

The platform has been working on the 333million barrel Njord field since 1997 and sits around 130km northwest of Kristiansund.

“There must never be any doubt that it is safe to work on Statoil’s installations,” said Mr Rennemo.

Yesterday, Faroe revised down its production estimates significantly after news of the extended shutdown emerged.

The company previously expected production to be at the lower end of its 7,000-9,000 barrels per day, but said that it now expected average production for 2013 to be down to between 5,500 and 6,500 barrels per day.

Despite the shortfall, Faroe saw half-year profits rise for the first part of 2013 to £12.2million, more than treble the figure last year.

Earnings and revenue fell slightly, with pre-tax earnings down from £62.8million in 2012 to £56.9million this year, while revenue dropped £1.6million to £89million compared with 2012.